Društvo| Satira

The Lost

Chris Farmer RSS / 26.05.2015. u 16:33

Given the proper conditions, I am sure that I could get lost in my own flat.

There are people who are born with an innate sense of orientation. These people always know which way is True North, how to get from here to there without circumnavigating the globe and discovering the West Indies, and do not refer to "right" as the "other left."

What is True North anyway? Is there a Fake North?

People with an innate sense of orientation look at us, the Lost, with disdain. They cannot conceive of not knowing exactly where they are in relation to the rest of the world at all times. These people probably never lose their keys, wake up in hotel rooms not knowing where they are, or miss exits on the highway.

Serbia, as I have come to understand how little I understand things here, is a place which requires an internal compass. Signs and indications are only sporadically and randomly marked, making it hard to get anything out of map-reading. I used to stop often and ask directions, but they are often given in relation to other unknown places, landmarks, and points of interest.

Do you know where the red bridge is?
No.
Next to the entrance to Visoka ulica?
No.
By the old theatre?
No.
Well, it's right after that!
Ok...

Ironically, people will sometimes stop and ask ME for directions. If I were more civic-minded, I would admit immediately that it would be more useful to ask an elm tree than ask me how to get anywhere. But instead, not wanting to appear rude, I always stop, listen, put a hand on my head, squint a little with a grimace that indicates a memory search, and tell them as much as I know.

And they invariably take off in the other direction.

It is commonly accepted that foreigners, no matter how long we have been here, are among the Lost. If someone asks me and hears my accent, he immediately apologizes (in English) and backs away. Maybe being lost is contagious.

Congenitally disoriented person that I am, I was very pleased to recently meet someone who was even MORE lost than I. We have sat several times in the car together, giving each other wrong directions, losing the car itself once parked, and resorting to a taxi to extricate ourselves from cartographical predicaments.

She tells me the story of a recent four-hour trip to Novi Sad in which she took a wrong turn. For the Lost, this is unsurprising - given a choice, we always take the wrong way. But somewhere on her way to the Croatian (!) border, she stopped on the side of the road to ask how to get back to Novi Sad. This is a true story, by the way.

The woman looked at her with grim severity and said: "If you are not from here, you will not understand anyway. So I will not tell you."

And she slowly walked away.

 

Lost on the Internet? Check out The Standard Deviation 

Atačmenti



Komentari (11)

Komentare je moguće postavljati samo u prvih 7 dana, nakon čega se blog automatski zaključava

srdjan.pajic srdjan.pajic 19:33 26.05.2015

Kartu čitaj...

...seljaka pitaj.

(official wisdom thought in the basic spelunking class. I never understood if it meant you should forget about the charts, and ask locals, or vice verse, or it is just an irony, cause most often both are pretty useless. GPS technology helps a lot navigating the country side, but not that much the cities).





a_jovicic a_jovicic 00:39 27.05.2015

Re: Kartu čitaj...

srdjan.pajic
...seljaka pitaj.

(official wisdom thought in the basic spelunking class. I never understood if it meant you should forget about the charts, and ask locals, or vice verse, or it is just an irony, cause most often both are pretty useless. GPS technology helps a lot navigating the country side, but not that much the cities).

As a map is just graphical representation of real, dynamic world, captured in one moment, it is always obsolete (that's reason why my cartographer fellows still have their jobs).

So read maps (or GPS) but also ask villagers!
sioux sioux 11:56 27.05.2015

Re: Kartu čitaj...

srdjan.pajic
GPS technology helps a lot navigating the country side, but not that much the cities).


workaholic workaholic 22:08 26.05.2015

Disorientation is my second name

Just to say hi to a fellow sufferer
adriana adriana 22:59 26.05.2015

Navigating


Disturbing number of men spend their coffee drinking moments explaining how to get from somewhere to somewhere, well, else. They spend hours exchanging the secret paths and navigation tricks. It sounds like a guide to the herbivore tracking.

So, it’s not something you just get

You have to practice.



a_jovicic a_jovicic 23:41 26.05.2015

Where is the true North Pole?

What is True North anyway? Is there a Fake North?

In fact there are lot of "fake" north(s)

True north (or geodetic one) is direction toward geographic North Pole. Astronomical north points to Polaris star. Magnetic one, based on Earth's magnetic field. Geomagnetic, similar (but more corect). Grid north is based on used map projection grid ... but ...

Where is the true North Pole?



Bonus question: Where is the prime meridian?

If you visit Royal Observatory at Greenwich and navigate by your GPS, you'll find that zero longitude is passing accross garbage can at near parking lot.




Broken GPS device?! Wrong marks at observatory building?! No ... Both are prime meridians ... just in different geodetic datums!
jkt2010 jkt2010 02:06 27.05.2015

Re: Where is the true North Pole?

a_jovicic
True north (or geodetic one) is direction toward geographic North Pole. Astronomical north points to Polaris star. Magnetic one, based on Earth's magnetic field. Geomagnetic, similar (but more corect). Grid north is based on used map projection grid ... but ...

This is all nonsense, ask any Balinese. In reality there are only the following directions:
Towards the rising Sun (Kangin)
Towards the setting Sun (Kauh)
Towards Mount Agung i.e. away from the sea (Kaja)
Towards the sea i.e. away from Mount Agung (Kelod)
a_jovicic a_jovicic 08:46 27.05.2015

Re: Where is the true North Pole?

jkt2010
This is all nonsense, ask any Balinese. In reality there are only the following directions:
Towards the rising Sun (Kangin)
Towards the setting Sun (Kauh)
Towards Mount Agung i.e. away from the sea (Kaja)
Towards the sea i.e. away from Mount Agung (Kelod)



Four directions? ... what a luxury!

In rural Serbia there are only three ...

Towards nearest town (varoš) ... where you go in case of any serious need
Towards cooperative building (zadruga) ... main gathering place, usually close to drink store
Towards cemetery (groblje) ... another important gathering place

rade.radumilo rade.radumilo 09:27 27.05.2015

Answer from a former Boy Scout

What is True North anyway? Is there a Fake North?


True North (geodetic north) is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole.

True geodetic north differs from magnetic north (the direction a compass points toward the magnetic north pole), and from grid north (the direction northwards along the grid lines of a map projection). Geodetic true north also differs very slightly from astronomical true north (typically by a few arcseconds) because the local gravity may not point at the exact rotational axis of the earth.

LINK
jkt2010 jkt2010 11:59 27.05.2015

Re: Answer from a former Boy Scout

rade.radumilo

a_jovicic

Chris Farmer Chris Farmer 15:45 29.05.2015

Re: Answer from a former Boy Scout

I am not sure why this picture showed up!!!
But ok...

Arhiva

   

Kategorije aktivne u poslednjih 7 dana